Tarnished Gold
by NorthernHandler
Summary: My idea of what happened to Mami the day after she made her wish. Oneshot, Rated T for violence and despair and stuff.


**This story explains my ideas of what happened the day after Mami made her wish. Sorry if it is different or there is anything I missed, but Mami will be a couple of years younger since she is a 'veteran' in the series. Any suggestions welcome!**

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**Tarnished Gold**

Sunlight streamed into the window of Mami Tomoe, reflecting off of the pearl-white walls. The simplicity of the room left hardly a shadow, just like the golden girl asleep in her bed. Quiet snores escaped the girl as she shifted uncomfortably. The girl's eyes were dark, skin pale, and golden hair disheveled against the perfectly white pillow beneath her head. Her hair didn't matter, she didn't mind. It takes hardly any time to do either way. The golden curls were her signature trademark, obviously. That is what everyone knew her for at school, at home, anywhere. She was wildly popular for a thirteen year old, after all.

The small echo of snores was interrupted by the golden girl thrashing in the white sheets. She sprang up, eyes open. A small bead of sweat dripped down her temple as her breath hitched in her throat. The girl sealed her eyes shut and took deep breaths. A smile slowly shaped on her lips as she heard the illusory humming of her mother in the kitchen. She wandered out of her bed, nose trailing the scent of fresh cake, a specialty of her mother's. Her bedroom door flung open as she called for her parents. No answer. Her smile never fled as she walked to the kitchen. The scent in her nostrils dispersed. The oven wasn't on. Her mother and father weren't even home.

Although the temporary scare shot through the girl, she knew that typically her parents would leave for work before she woke. There was no reason to be worried. It was a Saturday, so school wasn't a problem. The girl sat on the small plush couch and turned on the television. The news channel flipped on first, as usual. She stared at the screen as the dark haired reporter talked about a recent car accident. The fear once again shot through her veins.

'_Officials did not report to the scene until the following morning. According to witness statements, a large semi-truck ran through a red light, crashing into several other cars. One was reported to be a small sedan. Both the driver and the passenger were found dead, but blood was found in the back seat, without a body. Officials have started a search for any other witnesses or the suspected missing person. Please report any findings to your local police department.'_

The events told on the news channel matched those of the girl's dream exactly. She worried for a moment, and ran to the phone that sat solely on the kitchen table. She quickly dialed her father's cell phone, before hearing a familiar voice. _'Sorry, this phone has been disconnected. Please try again later.'_

"T-Try again later? W-what…" The phone replicated the same robotic tone again, but for a different number. The girl's hand released, shattering the plastic and glass phone on the pearly tile floor. The inner workings of the golden girl stopped, as she slowly thought over the events of her so-called 'dream'. Several flashbacks flooded her frail mind as she recalled the events with ease. Her heart stopped as she looked at her left hand, a shiny silver ring resting on it. A gasp slipped from her lips as she fell backwards. The noise flooded the eerily silent apartment, and soon reverted back to silence. Several moments passed until a familiar white creature walked over and sat in front of her. Its face was emotionless, but still admirable in a strange way. The ears moved as the tail flicked back and forth like a metronome. The girl didn't dare to look at the creature. It wasn't his fault, it was hers. She remembered. She saved herself, but didn't even think about her parents. Tears sank down her cheeks as her chest heaved.

"_Mami Tomoe, you need to get grief seeds. Your soul gem is already becoming dark. I can show you how to find witches, if you'd like." _The white creature sat still as it stared at the girl, eyes seemingly glowing red. The golden girl's eyes slowly opened, red rimmed and hollowed. The white creature looked up at her, a faux smile evident on its round face. She glared angrily at the small abomination staring at her.

"What have you done to me?" The girl's face was full of anger, something usually not seen in this particular person. A single car drove past outside, destroying the silent stare-down between the two. The white creature tilted its head and wiped its face with its paw. This creature was a mystery to the girl, it looked as if it couldn't comprehend the concept of emotion. It didn't seem to feel empathy, or even remorse for the broken girl. But why would it? She could have saved her parents, but only thought about herself.

"_You made the contract, I couldn't make you a magical girl without your consent! Now I have to show you something." _The creature reached out its long ears towards the girl's hand. She drew it back quickly to avoid touching the foul thing. It jumped onto her lap and grasped her hand. A small, egg shaped gem fashioned above the silver ring. The shiny gold danced inside, but a sliver of blackness entered the mix, swirling over and under the brilliant gold.

"_You see, your soul gem is already becoming tainted. You need to fight a witch, today. If not, you will become weak and will not be able to fight witches at all! And also, my name is Kyubey!" _Kyubey leaped off of the girl's lap and landed on the floor with a small thud. The golden girl glowered at the egg in her hand, the way you would at a murderer or kidnapper. Her heart pounded in her chest, from anger, or sadness, she did not know. All she knew was that she was a magical girl now. And she had to fight whatever the white cat was going on about. She gathered herself up, wiping the tears away. Inside, she was screaming, hoping that this was all a nightmare, but in reality, she had to deal with it. Her life was to begin anew.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The darkness surrounded the golden girl, still in her school uniform. Flickering streetlights left the streets to hold an eerie feeling, one that most would not travel near. Kyubey walked in sync with the girl who was holding her soul gem, staring at it for the sign of a witch. This wasn't an easy task. The golden light of the streetlights shone dimly on the street, leaving misleading shadows to fool the girl's eye. Kyubey, though, didn't seem fazed by anything, not the shadows, nor the devious looking people that quickly shuffled by. His eyes were set in front of him, as if he saw something that the girl could not.

The attention of the golden girl was dragged away once she stepped into the witch's barrier. It held the smell of old machinery, rust, and oil. The taste filled her mouth, causing her to spit. Sure, it was unladylike, but it didn't matter in here. She awkwardly held her soul gem up to her chest, letting her magical girl outfit envelope her school uniform. Wait, why was she wearing her school uniform on a Saturday? Either way, it didn't matter. She looked down at herself. She was wearing a golden and brown Fräulein outfit with tall boots and tights. She reached up. A feathered hat sat upon her head, just above her golden curls. She sighed. This was too odd to her. It didn't feel the least bit natural. She focused on her hand, and a flintlock rifle filled the empty space. She gasped at the heavy feeling of the beautifully crafted rifle, but quickly became accustomed to it.

A small gear-shaped beast flung itself at her, making strange noises. The unprepared girl threw up her rifle and fumbled with it. The beast flew past her, slicing her arm open. Near the cut, rust started to form, consuming the blood. It left a raw, stinging sensation that felt as though she poured chemicals in a raw wound. Basically, it hurt like hell. The girl let out a small yell and turned to shoot the beast, but her arm ceased to work and fell limp to her side. The small beast let out a squeaky snicker at her, jumping around her in circles. She summoned all of her strength and swung the rifle, shooting as it moved. To her surprise, it actually hit the small beast, leaving it to fall on the ground and scream a very high pitched scream.

As the girl walked further, cautiously, into the barrier, she noticed that her surroundings started to resemble metallic things even more. Giant gears lined the walls, all slowing with rust gathering on them as they spun, moving the one next to them. The small beasts similar to the first marched around in groups, most ignoring her, but few yelling in a strange language and running away. Still clutching the same rifle, she shot at an upcoming beast. Nothing happened, just a loud click. Her eyes widened as she looked down at the weapon. The beast came closer to her, and she panicked. With all of the girl's might, she threw the rifle up, grabbed it, and hit the beast like a baseball. It went flying into a pile of rusted machinery, and let out a loud scream as the gears collapsed upon it. The girl stopped for a second, observing her rifle. After a few seconds, she realized that it could only shoot once. Throwing it aside, she attempted to conjure another, but it formed halfway, before it exploded and scorched the girl's hand.

"AGGH!" The golden girl threw the twisted metal down, and stared at her bloodied hand. Somehow, it didn't hurt too badly. The cut on her arm had hurt far worse, and in fact, it still stung like hell. She shook her hand and attempted again, but tried to conjure it further away from her. Focusing on the ground, the silver rifle rose perfectly, ready to shoot. A smile overtook her face with her newfound confidence, but it was quickly shattered as a group of gears, following a slightly larger gear, dashed towards her. She stopped a moment, and pulled four more guns out of the ground. It was starting to get easier, but one failed and exploded like the earlier gun. This one though, took out one of the gear beasts. She ran towards the guns and shot them at the gears like it was simple. She was a natural, by what it seemed. Each shot landed on a beast perfectly, sending it flying into the air until it banged against the metal ceiling.

In the furthest room from the entrance, there was the witch. It was a giant skeleton sitting atop a throne of varied metal parts. The skeleton wore a gear around its neck, a twisted metal crown on its head, and a rusted pipe for an arm. The room was filled with piles of miscellaneous metal parts and beasts, all piled to the ceiling. Giant metal pipes served as columns for the throne room. Giant gears clanged against each other on the walls, leaving an irritating noise to fill the girl's ears. The smell of rust was stronger in here than anywhere else, and the girl stopped to wonder if all witches were this odd. She shook her head and readied rifles to fight the oncoming beasts that rolled and ran towards her. The strange creatures in a group slammed into each other, making an odd piece of metal. It was spiked, and rolled towards the girl like a wheel. The girl jumped to the side and slammed the 'wheel' with her rifle after shooting it several times. The rusted pieces easily broke and fell apart, leaving the injured beasts that survived to wander off.

She sighed, and ran towards the main attraction. The witch put its hand (and pipe) on the throne arms, and bent down to look at her. It laughed and banged the pipe against the throne, causing several large gears to fall near the golden girl. She hardly jumped out of the way to avoid them, but still survived. The witch threw its head back in laughter, crown slowly sliding off. With the actual arm, it adjusted the crown as if it were a human. It laughed more and pointed at the girl with its arm. Several more gear beasts ran at her, one succeeding by slicing open the skin on her calf. A loud cry escaped her as the rust started to eat away at her skin. Cursing, she brought up her rifles from the ground and shot them all at once without even picking them up. The witch sat back, watching it like a movie, confusion evident on its skull. It looked around at the gears around it and slapped a pile of gears.

All the golden girl could hear was clanging when several large gears fell atop her. She struggled to move, but eventually crawled through the gears to the top. The witch sat back, thinking that the girl was dead. When the girl emerged, the witch itself leaned forward in confusion. Its laughter was interrupted by loud shots shooting near its skull. Surprised, it stood up, standing impressively taller than the average human. It laughed and swung at the girl with the pipe arm. It succeeded, and left the girl to go swinging against the wall of gears. She screamed as her body oddly contorted into the wall. She sat up and looked through the wall of gears to see the witch aiming the pipe in her direction. Before she had time to think, boiling hot oil spewed out of the pipe like a hose and into the wall. It blasted away the rusted gears beside her, part of the oil landing on her side. It burned through her skin with ease.

The pain did not cease as she scampered away from the boiling hot spray of oil. The witch's laughter echoed loud enough to cause the mountains of machinery to collapse onto the beasts below them. The girl's ears were nearly bleeding from all of the noise. Her heart pounded, but she knew that she had to destroy this witch. A small voice rang in her ears, swirling in her mind. _'Tiro Finale! Tiro Finale!' _The girl pulled out her rifles and shot at the witch, causing it to scream as the bullets danced on the surface of its white skull. The pipe swung again and threw the girl out of the wall of gears and onto the throne. She gathered herself up and somehow, made an extremely large rifle. The voice rang in her ears again. _'Tiro Finale! Tiro Finale!'_

"TIRO FINALE!" It was worth a shot, right? It worked. The giant bullet penetrated the skull of the witch, sending the crown off of it. It reached for the crown with a scream before falling to a pile of bones, including the gear and pipe. The barrier started to disperse, and the crown itself faded away, leaving a grief seed in its place. The heavily injured girl limped towards it, and picked it up.

"What do I do now, Kyubey?" The girl held out the grief seed and sat on the concrete ground. The white cat appeared from the shadows, tail swishing as always.

"_Hold it to your soul gem, and it will be cleansed. Then give it to me!" _The golden girl did as she was told, and brought out her soul gem. The gold didn't even look gold anymore. Large snakes of darkness slithered around the gold core, showing the damage done in today's battle. She held the small metal object to her soul gem, and the snakes all became magnetized to the grief seed. Her soul gem was clean once again. She tossed the grief seed to Kyubey and sighed. Her wounds slowly started to heal, but were taking longer than she'd hoped.

"So I have to do this every day?" The girl leaned against the wall while she sat, staring at the little creature.

"_Yes, and I am surprised you survived. That witch has already claimed four magical girls recently. You did well for a first time." _The girl smiled at the creature. Fighting made her forget about the events of the last evening. She could get used to this.

Years later, though, the girl discovered the truth. Her bright gold personality had become tarnished, and she had become broken. She learned a hard, cold fact:

_Even if you run faster every day, in the end, you are just standing still._


End file.
